Method of decorating glassware.



H. S. EVANS.

METHOD 0F DECORATING GLASSWARE.

-APPLICATION FILED AUG25| 1914.

1,226,957. Patented May 22, 1917.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

WITNESSES INVENTOR UNITED VSTATES PATENT HOWARD S. EVANS, OF PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR T MACBETH- EVANS GLASS COMPANY, OF PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA, '.A CORPORATION OF PENNSYL- VANIA.

METHOD or, DECORATING cLAsswAnE.

Patented May 22, 1917.

l Application led August 25, 1914. Serial No. 858,443.

To all whom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, HOWARD S. EVANS, a 'citizen of the United States, residing at Pittsburgh, in the county of Allegheny and 5.State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in the Method of Decorating'Glassware, of which the following is a specification.

The invention relates to a method for producing colored designs upon glassware and particularly upon shades for use in lighting. The invention has for its objects the provision of a lmethod capable of producing a design of improved appearance;

and the provision of a method which can be carried on rapidly and by the exercise o only a slight degree of skill on the part of the operators, so that the cost of the decorating in colors is reduced to a minimum. The

method is illustrated in the accompanying drawings wherein- `Figures 1,2, 3 and 4 are side elevations of shades in successive stages incident to the practice of the method. v

Fig. 1 illustrates a shade 1 of clear or other glass, before the process of decoration has begun. This shade is placed in a de- Vice 'for rotating it about its aXis and the bands of color 2 and 3 are applied Aby means of a brush or by a spray. These bands of color might be applied by some other procedure than the one just mentioned, but this method is a rapid and convenient one. AfterA the colors have been dried orburned to iiX them upon the glass, the next step of the method, as illustrated in Fig. 3, is practised.

The step, as illustrated in Fig. 3, consists in imprintingfupon the bands of color 2 and 3, the designs 4 and 5, such desi s being imprinted with a material known 1n the art as resist. This resist is a relatively sticky substance preferably composed of zinc, rub ber cement, and av fat oil of turpentine. This material constitutes a protecting coating s that when a sand blast or other roughening agent is subsequently applied to the shade the surface covered by the resist is 'protected from the action of the sandblast or roughening agent. In some cases it may be desirable to use in place of the resist a coating or covering consisting of a plate in the form of the design to be produced.

Fig. 4 illustrates the shade after the last.

steps of the operation. To bring the shade to this condition, the shade of Fig. 3 is eX- posed to a sand blast which sand blast not only roughens the surfaceof the glass not covered by the painter the resist, but also removes theportion of the painted coating not covered by the resist. The sand blast of course roughens ythe surface from which the paint has been removed so that the entire surface of the shade with the exception of the design portions 4 and 5, is sanded or 65 roughened. This operation leaves the resist upon the surface of the shade and this resist is then washed away, preferably by means of a soda water'solution. The washing away of the resist exposes the colored 70 surface therebeneath so that the Isurface of the shade is decorated with a'colored design imposed upon polished glass with a sanded background surrounding the colored por- AIf desired the process might be, of course, practised in the reverse manner so as to make the portions 4 and -constitute the sanded backgroundwith the remainder of the shade in colors uponthe polished glass. The coloring may or may not be 80 burned. In those cases where the colors are to be burned, this is preferably done after the application of the bands of color as illustrated in Fig. 2, but if desiredl the burning operation could be deferred until after the sand blasting operation and after the washing oit of the resist. Other roughening agents may be employed in place of the sand blast,- such as an acid.

The result achieved by the process is advantageous not only because of the unusual appearance secured due to the fact that the colors are imposed upon uns'anded. glass with a sanded surrounding portion or background therefor, but because of the cheapness of the operation. Very little skill is required toapply the bands of color as illustrated in Fig. 2 or vto 'apply the printed design of resist as illustrated in Fi 3, the latter operation being` accomplis ed by means of a strip or sheet carrying the resist in the desired design or pattern.

These operations can therefore be carried on with the exercise of only a small amount of care and with great rapidity. The expensive hand labor incident to filling in designs outlined upon the glass surfaces in the manner in which such work has hitherto been done is avoided and the result achieved is better since the colors as applied in the 110 bands 2 and 3, and subsequently appearing in the design, are more uniform than in the procedure above referred to where imprinted outlines are filled in by hand with a brush. The cost' of decorating the glass is reduced to a minimum and a product is secured of an appearance better than the more expensive product as heretofore produced. Other advantages incident'to the process will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art.

Another mannerof carrying out the processis as follows: The glass article is first roughened on the outside, and a dry paint is applied with a piece of cotton or other material to that portion to appear. An acid resist is then imprinted on the article upon the colored portion and the article is dipped in acid for a sufficient period to allow it to remove that portion of the colored surface not protected by the resist. This immersion is not continued long enough to permit the acid to etch perceptibly that part of the article not covered by the resist. The resist is then removed, thus finishing the article. The appearance secured with this process is somewhat different than that secured by the process first described, softer and more delicate colors being secured since the roughened surface takes up only a certain amount of the dry paint giving what is known as a matt finish with colors ofa relatively subdued tone. If desired the removal of the paint not covered by the resist might be accomplished by means of a sand blast, the resist in that case being of the character described in connection with the first process.

What I claim is:

1. The method of producing sanded or ground glassware decorated in colors, which consists in placing upon the articles colored bands, leaving the remainder of the glass uncolored, burning the colors to fix them upon the glass, placing upon the bands protecting coverings of the designs to be produced, treating the articles so that the surfaces thereof with the exception. of that which is protected are roughened, and the coloring the bands, and finally on which the design is' matter is removed from the unprotected portions of the bands, and finally removing the said protecting coverings.

2. The method lof producing sanded or ground glassware decorated in colors, which consists in placing upon the articles colored bands, leaving the'rest of the articles uncolored, placing over the bands protecting coverings 'of the designs to be produced, treating the articles so that the surfaces thereof with the exception of that which is protected are roughened, and the coloring matter is removed from the unprotected portions of removing the protecting coverings.

3. The method of producing sanded or ground glassware decorated. in colors, which consists in rotating the articles about their axes and applying colors in bands to the articles as they are rotated, placing over the bands of color produced protecting coverings of the designs to be produced, treating the articles so that the surfaces thereof with the exception of that which is protected are roughened and the coloring matter removed from the unprotected portions, and finally removing the protecting coverings.

4:. The method of producing sanded or ground glassware decorated in colors, which consists in coloring portions of the outer surfaces of the articles leaving the remainder of the outer surface of the glass uncolored, burning the colors to fiX them upon the glass, placing upon the colored portions protecting coverings of the designs to be produced, treating the articles so that the surfaces thereof with the exception of that which is protected is roughened, and the coloring matter is removed from the unprotected parts of the colored portions, and finally removing the said protecting coverlngs.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto signed my name in the presence of the two subscribed witnesses.

" HOWARD S. EVANS.

Witnesses:

ALAN BRIGHT, GEORGE D. SHAVER. 

